1% Boaz Trust

The Boaz Trust is a charity working to relieve the suffering of destitute asylum seekers in Greater Manchester. It was founded in 2004 in response to the growing problem of destitution amongst asylum seekers. They now have a dedicated team of volunteers plus nine staff.

Accommodation – The Boaz Trust currently accommodates between 60 and 70 asylum seekers and refugees. Boaz has 12 houses, three for refugees and nine for asylum seekers. The rest of their accommodation is provided by host families in Manchester who give up a spare room. They also run a winter night shelter from November to April which rotates around local churches.

Basic Needs – They provide weekly food parcels to their residents along with toiletries and other essentials.

Legal Services and Support – They help residents to access healthcare and other specialist services. In-house legal expert also assists clients with fresh claims so they can move on with their asylum case.

Meaningful Lives – Boaz provide a programme of activities and classes to prevent days from becoming empty and meaningless, and to help people integrate into the community. These include English and sewing classes, arts and crafts, gardening, volunteering and training opportunities, and occasional trips.

Campaigning- The Boaz Trust is involved in awareness-raising and campaigning for changes in the asylum system. Without this, nothing will ever change. They partner with others in national campaigns, and take their roadshow to churches and other groups. They also seek to get true representations of asylum seekers in the press.

Some of the projects we support

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- Soil for Life - Established in 2002, Soil for Life assists Township communities in South Africa to overcome hunger and poverty through the establishment of food gardens.

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- NEED Burma - Burma’s Network for Environment and Economic Development works with people across all ethnic groups to build a stronger civil society that empowers rural communities to develop sustainable futures.

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- CELUCT - have been working for over 20 years to create sustainable, agro-ecological farming practices to tackle food insecurity in Zimbabwe.

1% - Middlewood Trust - The Middlewood Trust is based in Lancashire and was set up 30 years ago to provide education and research into sustainable living and food production, low impact lifestyles and ecosystems.

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- St. John's Sunshine - is a community co-operative in Old Trafford which generates solar energy for a community centre and uses the revenue to benefit local people.